Scientiae Carnival: 5th Edition

Hello Everyone,

Sorry about the delay, but here it finally is, the 5th Edition of the Scientiae Carnival, the theme of which was, approximately, why and how do you labour at what you do. I have had a great time assembling this, though I am feeling tremendously guilty because I am doing this at work since I have no Internet at home. There might be something shadily appropriate about that given the theme and all, but.

Some of these posts were e-mailed to me, for which I thank you very very much! Others are the result of some intensive trawling, with happy happy results for my blog roll.

Propter Doc tells us here how she became a chemist and developed a healthy disrespect for authority, roughly at the same time. Doc-in-training tells us about how she loves what she does
Also, Jenny F. Scientist tells us about seeing Paul Nurse give a talk in which he told stories about how he did the research that would eventually get him a Nobel prize. Yes, Science Is Hard and needs a healthy dose of serendipity.

On a more introspective note, Jane is trying to figure out whether her job is worth it, and uses the analogy of a bad relationship to analyze her relationship to her job.Thoughtful and insightful, and something I am sure we all think about frequently. This is the first in what promises to be a really good series. Take a look.

All labour needs the leavening of leisure, and doc-in-training talks about the problems grad students face in their quest for leisure. She has a really useful pragmatic approach towards this.
A Female Scientist tries to keep her positive spin on life through a quarter life crisis

Some people address some of the more practical aspects of working: Science Woman has two great posts on taking her baby on a field trip and to a seminar, truly a labour of love. I consider the merits of greater professionalism and the folks at Fairer Science calculate how much more a woman has to work to earn the same amount as a man. Holly at field Notes of an Evolutionary Psychologist wonders how to get into a research network and Saxifraga at Rising to the Occasion discusses talking about science in the public.

Some discuss Ph.D. dissertations: A+ is not a "real" doctor, but has some interesting thoughts on how to write a dissertation at Ph.D. (People Have Doubts: Best title Ever!). Is fear motivation enough? Post-doc at Minor Revisions courageously shares the story of her thesis defense with us. I'm so impressed she continues to work in academia after this. Minor Revisions: Indefensible
Another interesting question: How much advising is too much?

Not women in Science, but great reading. Lou has some answers to the question of whether Ph.Ds are worth it. Derek discusses Doctorates and discontents

Looking for blogs from different sources, Nature has recently set up a networking site, and there a few blogs on it. Anna Kushnir has a fabulous blog on lab life. I haven't selected one particular post, I think the whole thing is great reading. Lab Life - Anna Kushnir's blog - blog on Nature Network

In other great news, FemaleScienceProfessor has been chosen as a Blog of Note-Yay! Congratulations. It's a fantastic blog and deserves the recognition.

And finally, Skookumchick has a suggestion for a Scientiae logo.

I really enjoyed doing this, I hope you enjoy reading it. The next edition will be at Science Woman's, coming out on the 15th. Happy blogging!